After 10 years away from her island hometown, Lexi is back, as beautiful and aloof and lonely as ever. Can she rebuild her friendship with Clare — or is the damage too deep to repair?

Clare was in the kitchen above her shop, banging around pots and ladles, doing her ritual spring-cleaning with her favorite CDs blasting in the background.

Ever since she'd heard of Lexi's return to the island, Clare's emotions had frothed like cream in a double boiler. Bubbles circled to the surface — excitement — Lexi! Fun, gorgeous Lexi! Then pop! Lexi — snotty Lexi, shooting Clare a look that would make a giraffe feel short. Clare screamed along to Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" as she scrubbed.

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A moment of silence fell when the song ended, and in that silence, someone said, "Hello." There in the doorway stood Lexi, looking like 300 million bucks. Clare wondered how she must look to Lexi in her old athletic pants. Her hair was rumpled and she hadn't bothered to put on lipstick.

"You might have phoned first," Clare said.

"I didn't know you were going to be here until I heard the music." Lexi hesitated, then blurted out, "I rented the place next door. I'm going to live upstairs and have a shop downstairs." She flapped her hands awkwardly. "You look great."

Clare bridled. "Right. I'm a fashion classic."

Lexi waved her hand. "You look great. Happy. Healthy."

Clare grinned in spite of herself. "Coffee?" She poured two cups and put a few chocolates on a plate. "Try one."

Lexi took a bite. "Wow. You make these yourself?"

"Yep. You're eating the Nantucket Knock-Out Truffle.

Lexi laughed. "Cool." She licked a bit of chocolate off her lip and grinned at Clare, looking just as she had at 16.

"So," Clare asked bluntly, "why'd you come back?"

"Clare — " Lexi stopped. "I'm so sorry about the way I was when I left. I ought to take out a full-page ad in the newspaper apologizing to everyone in town."

Clare raised her brow. "A full page might be excessive."

Lexi laughed with relief. "Okay. Remember that summer? How it was for me? My parents were overworked at the shop, and they were going to have to take a second mortgage out on the house to pay my tuition at school. My brother was off in veterinary school. And you were totally with Jesse Gray."

"Not totally," Clare started to object, then grinned.

Lexi continued, "So it was like I was invisible. Then Ed Hardin came into the restaurant and saw me. Chose me. Even though he wasn't very popular around here, that wealthy, powerful man wanted to marry me! I mean, it was amazing. Clare, I have traveled everywhere. Stick a pin in a map, and I've been there. And everything was first class."

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"I saw pictures of you a few times. In the papers. You looked like an American princess. I was happy for you."

"That's nice to know." Lexi wasn't sure she could ever tell Clare the truth about her marriage and the way it ended. Just remembering Ed's infidelity made her burn with shame. She looked out the window. "There's the ferry! The moving van — all my stuff! Thanks for the coffee. I'll see you — "

"Is this the way you want it?" Clare glared at her. "Everything superficial, air kisses and cotton-candy friendship?"

Lexi started to argue, then changed her mind. "I'd like to tell you everything, Clare, but it's all a bit, well, just sad. I'm starting my life over, and I want to enjoy it — and I really do need to make some decisions before the movers get here."

"Okay," Clare agreed grudgingly. "See you soon, then."

Lexi headed for the door, then turned. "Clare, do you think Jesse could do some carpentry work at my shop?"

Clare just looked at her.

"I know your fiancé doesn't like me," Lexi said, "but right now nobody here likes me. At least I know Jesse will do a good job, because you'll kill him if he doesn't."

Lexi's logic made Clare laugh. "I'll talk to him."

"Thanks." Lexi waved and headed through the door to her own unsullied, unmarked, starting-over-fresh place.

Recently, the local animal shelter had been transformed by avid fund-raisers from a storybook cottage into a lavish palace with a reception area that rivaled the deck of the Starship Enterprise. Clare was glad to see a familiar face behind the counter: Helen Coffin, one of her mother's buddies.

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"Clare! What brings you out here?"

"I'd like to adopt a dog for my dad." Ever since her mother's death, Clare's father had been in a remote fog.

"What a good idea!" Helen walked her through to a bright room full of clean cells inhabited by sleeping dogs.

"Oh, the poor things!" Clare walked from cage to cage, smiling and cooing. "I wish I could adopt them all."

"Clare." A door swung open and in strode Lexi's brother, a lab coat over his street clothes. "I thought that was you."

"Adam!" Clare blushed as he walked toward her. "I saw the article in the paper about you. Welcome back."

"Thanks. I really missed the island."

He smiled and Clare struggled for composure. "I, uh, I'm thinking of getting a dog for my father." She pointed at the last cage, where a black-and-white mongrel with blue eyes sat with her head cocked winsomely. "She looks sweet."

"Just arrived." Adam unlatched the cage door, holding out his hand for the dog to sniff. Very gently he stroked her head. "Come meet her," he said to Clare.

"Oh, my." She petted the shy dog. "I think I'm in love."

Clare looked over at Adam. He was as handsome as his sister was beautiful, but unlike Lexi, he'd bulked up. Not fat, just...substantial. He looked so strong, yet so gentle.

Adam looked back at her. "What do you think?"

Adam reached out his hand, and Clare's body zinged with desire. She could hardly breathe. "About what?"

"About the dog," Adam said. Somehow he managed to pet the dog in Clare's lap without touching her legs or her torso, but the nearness of his hand made Clare breathless.

"I'll take her." Clare patted the dog's rump; as she did, the light caught her engagement ring.

"You've made a good choice. Let me know how she works out." Adam stood and turned to go. "And tell Jesse hello."

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Box by box, the merchandise for Lexi's shop arrived, trundled over the cobblestones by the UPS man. Clare had promised that Jesse would come to build the dressing rooms Lexi needed, but he hadn't shown. It was no surprise. Just as Lexi was about to give up on him, she heard a knock.

She opened the door. "Jesse!" The sight of him knocked the breath right out of her lungs. He wore work clothes — jeans and a blue denim shirt. He was slender, fit, and tanned, the most laid-back boy she'd ever known. But right now something about him sent her pulse racing.

"Oh, Jesse, thank heavens you're here! I'm so grateful! Come in!" She wanted to seem natural. What would she say if Jesse was just another normal man? "You haven't changed one single bit," she told him truthfully.

"You have," he said, flashing her a sideways glance. Their gazes connected and something sparked between them.

"What do you need?" Jesse asked. He was blushing.

Wow, Lexi thought, and knew she was blushing too. When she spoke, her voice came out in a squeak. "Two cubicles." She cleared her throat. "I made sketches." She pulled out her drawings and laid them on a display case.

Jesse came to stand next to her. He picked up the papers. His hands were thick from working, his fingertips callused from playing guitar. Were his fingers sensitive to the touch?

Jesse gave her a look full of...she couldn't read it. Was it disgust? "I'll be here tomorrow about 5:30," he told her, and strode out the door without a backward glance.

"Well," Lexi said out loud after he left, "that went well."

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Clare was in the kitchen, deeply involved in a complicated recipe for seafood pasta. She wanted to reward Jesse for helping Lexi. It meant he had to work extra hours, but still, it was a small job. Clare didn't understand why he was being so sullen about it.

She poured herself a glass of wine and gazed out at the porch. She'd love to get over to the Cape to buy some new cushions for the wicker furniture. She was in such a nesting mood these days. If she and Jesse married in the fall, maybe she could have a baby in the spring....

The dog — her father had named their gentle female mutt Ralph — clicked into the room. Clare bent to stroke her. "Hi, sweetie."

"I hope you're going to wash your hands before you touch the food." Jesse stood in the kitchen door. He looked sexy and exhausted.

Clare made a face. "Hello to you, too, Sunshine. Since when are you so frightened of dog germs? Sit down and have some wine. I'm making a yummy meal." She glanced over her shoulder. "How are the dressing rooms going?"

Jesse grunted. "I'll be through tomorrow night."

Clare put the pasta in to cook, wondering what on earth was bugging Jesse. She filled Ralph's bowl and set it down.

"I don't know why you got that thing," Jesse remarked.

Surprised by the tone of his voice, Clare turned to look at him. "I told you. To get my father out of the house."

"Be honest, Clare — you're going to be the one responsible for that animal. Which means you and I are going to be tied down even more than we already are."

"Tied down?" Clare's heart made funny movements.

"Yeah, like how can we travel? You know I want to travel."

"True, but when we do get the chance to travel, well, by then Dad will be capable of caring for the dog."

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"I'm not so sure."

Clare prepared a plate for Jesse. As she carried it to the table, Ralph dashed between her legs so quickly that Clare tripped, nearly sending the plate of food into the air. "No!" Clare snapped. "Bad dog, Ralphie!"

Ralphie cringed at the harsh sound of her voice, and Clare felt just completely miserable.

On a windy spring evening, Jesse was at the back of Lexi's shop, hammering away. Lexi kept busy, forcing her mind to focus on work even though every cell in her body was tuned toward Jesse's presence.

"There," Jesse called over the dividing partition. "Done."

Lexi stood. "Do you suppose you could come back tomorrow and do just a few more little bits?"

Jesse came out of the cubicle. He smelled of wood and, just a little, of sweat. "What else?"

"I need the pictures hung, and mirrors. And privacy curtains for the cubicles, so the rods should go up here and here — " She felt her breasts rise as she stretched to point to where the brackets should go. This brought her so close to Jesse, she could feel the heat of his body. He looked at her.

"Jesse." She put her hand on the blue cotton of his shirt.

Jesse brought his mouth to hers. His kiss was soft, his body hot. Sensations churned inside her. She had never felt this way before; she wanted him with every atom of her being. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing him closer.

Jesse groaned and pushed himself away from her. "We can't do this." He slammed out the door, leaving Lexi alone, trembling.

Warning voices clamored, but she refused to hear them. All she knew was that she wanted Jesse to come back — now. She wanted him pressed against her, kissing her, touching; she wanted to run her hands over his warm, hard body —

— and that was something she could never have.

Jesse was engaged to marry Clare. And Lexi couldn't allow herself to be alone with Jesse ever again.

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Jesse hadn't slept over, so when Clare woke, she decided to take Ralphie to the ocean. She loved the deserted beach at this time of day, full of light and surging tide. As she and Ralph stepped onto the sand, Clare saw a lone man walking, accompanied by a couple of dogs.

"Good morning!" Adam waved at her. "What a day!" He wore swim trunks and his honey-brown hair was wet.

"Don't tell me you've been swimming. It's too cold!"

"I like it this way. It's refreshing."

Clare matched her gait to Adam's as they continued along the beach. The dogs raced around beside them.

"Life is so simple for them," Clare said musingly.

"And not for you?"

She felt Adam's gaze on her face. All her senses flipped to red alert. The space between her arm and his seemed glittery with the electricity of attraction. "Well...."

Adam turned his face away. "I've got a thermos of coffee up by the dune," he said. "Want to share it?"

They sat down side by side, looking out at the ocean.

"You were saying..." Adam prompted.

"Oh, well, Adam...I guess I keep thinking about family. My parents were both so cerebral, I'm surprised they managed to keep me alive through infancy."

Adam laughed. "You turned out pretty well."

"Thanks." She met his eyes. "I want a lot of children."

"Does Jesse want children?" Adam asked.

"I'm not sure Jesse's through being a child himself." Guilt flooded her for this small betrayal. "Do you want children?"

Adam was silent for a moment. His profile was strong, his nose broken from a football injury, his lashes dark.

"I don't know, Clare. I suppose if I met the right woman."

He rose and walked down to the water's edge. Clare downed the last sip of coffee and joined him.

"I've got to get back," she told him.

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"Me too." His legs were muscular, freckled with sand.

"Well, thanks for the coffee." Why was it so hard to pull herself away? "Maybe I could bring some tomorrow...."

Adam's eyes were calm. "It's nice just to walk with you."

What if I jumped on you, wrapped my legs around you, and kissed you — would that be nice? Clare thought. Being in his presence was like being caught up in an undertow; it was taking all she had simply to breathe.

"Come on, Ralphie," she said, and bent to clip the leash on the dog's collar. She didn't meet Adam's eyes. "So, well, bye." She ran off, skipping along the beach as if she were a child, and Ralphie ran next to her, bounding with joy.

In Lexi's dreams, a man was kissing her — he was Jesse and not Jesse. The kiss was intoxicating, surrounding her in a warm sea of pleasurable sensation. She woke feeling full of energy; she had to get out into the fresh day. Pulling on a sweater, she drifted out her back door.

A small figure sat very still on the end of the town pier, facing out steadily toward the channel opening to the Sound. Lexi walked over the low shelf of pebbles until she reached the beach, then squelched her way over the sodden sand toward the girl. It was Jewel Chandler.

"Jewel?"

"Hello, Miss Laney." The girl's eyes were serious.

Lexi sat on the cool splintery boards. "School's out?"

"Teacher's meeting."

"Ah. So you're here...."

"I'm waiting for my father."

Jewel's father — Tristram Chandler. His boat had washed up on a Maine shore after a storm a few days ago. But there had been no sign of his body.

"Till dark. Then Mom says I have to go home." Her shoulders slumped. "I didn't know hoping was such hard work."

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The child was so vulnerable, so determined. "Maybe I could help you hope," said Lexi.

Jewel nodded. "It would be nice if you helped."

A Boston Whaler chugged in and a fisherman waved at Jewel. So everyone knows about her vigil, Lexi thought.

"My shop is over there. Come by if you need anything."

Jewel nodded. "Thank you."

Lexi wandered away. Had she done the wrong thing, she wondered, offering to help hope that Jewel's father was alive? The sea was cruel, true, but it also was full of miracles. Sometimes, Lexi thought, you had to choose hope.

Lexi and Clare were at Fifty-Six Union, leaning toward each other over a crisp white tablecloth.

"So Jesse's finished your work?" Clare asked.

Lexi made a face. "Most of it. But I'm not ready to open."

"You've seen Jesse a few times now." Clare lowered her voice. "Tell me, what do you think about him?"

"Jesse?" Lexi gulped and took a sip of wine.

"I mean, do you think he's happy? He seems so restless. I think maybe he regrets asking me to marry him."

Lexi chose her words carefully. "I know he wants to travel, Clare. When he saw the pictures I have at the shop of different beaches, he said he'd like to go — to Bali, and Rio.

Clare put her fork down and leaned her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. She hesitated, then let it all spill out. "Lex, I've run into Adam several times, walking on the beach with Ralphie, and he's so kind and so grown-up — I...I think I'm attracted to Adam, Lex."

"But you're engaged to Jesse."

"I know! I'm going nuts! I love Jesse — " Clare broke off.

Lexi narrowed her eyes. "Don't you break Adam's heart."

"No, it's not like that, Lexi. I mean, I wouldn't just sleep with him and still be with Jesse." She waved her hands. "Oh, I don't know! Don't pay any attention to me. Tell me about you. Have you met anyone you want to date?"

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Lexi shook her head. "All I've been doing is working. It's like Noah's ark is about to land. I remember how it was with my parents' shop. One moment life is organized, and the next there are hundreds of wild animals thundering around and it's all you can do to keep them fed and stabled."

Clare laughed. "You're so funny, Lex." She took her friend's hand. "I'm so glad you're home."

They said goodnight and Clare headed home, but her thoughts were still churning. She did love Jesse. He had a sweetness about him that he would carry throughout his life. But he had become a challenge for her, a contest. All those times he'd slept around, she'd felt so betrayed. When he'd return to her, she was triumphant — and yet always anxious, too, trying to guess what would keep him with her.

But with Adam, she felt so completely at home. Adam was the sensual pull of the tides, but he was also the safety of the waiting shore. In comparison, Jesse was a heron, a sleek free spirit, too wild to rest on the land.

Perhaps Adam was not in love with her. But perhaps he was, and perhaps she could free Jesse, and herself as well.

Jesse folded his napkin, leaned back in his chair, and patted his stomach. "Baby, you grill a mean steak."

Clare smiled. "Thanks, Jesse. I'm glad you liked it. I have something to tell you, and I wanted you to be...comfortable while we talk." Her hands were shaking as she removed the diamond ring from her left hand and set it on the kitchen table. "I'm breaking off our engagement."

Jesse stared at her. "Excuse me?"

"I don't want to marry you. I hope we'll be friends, but — "

"Clare! What are you even talking about? I haven't fooled around since we got engaged!" His tone was indignant.

"Yes, that's true. But I want more than that, Jesse. I want a nice, solid marriage with a couple of kids and no dramas. That's not your dream. It's never been your dream."

"You don't want to have children with me?"

Clare caught her breath. "Oh, Jesse." This was the hardest thing for her to surrender, the image she'd cherished for so many years, of Jesse's baby in her arms.

"Clare." Jesse almost shook her in his desperation. Tears welled in his blue eyes. "Clare. Look. Let's go in the bedroom and get you pregnant right now."

She stroked his face, knowing it was probably the last time she'd touch him so intimately. "When you wake up tomorrow morning, you'll feel set free. And by tomorrow evening you'll have 15 women lined up to console you in bed."

"I don't want 15 other women. I want you, Clare."

"I know that's what you think, Jesse. But give yourself time. This is the right choice for both of us. At least, I'm sure it's the right choice for me."

The phone rang just as Lexi came out of the shower. It was late, and she was exhausted. Still...she picked up.

"Can I come over?" Clare was exuberant. "I've got news."

"You're pregnant."

"Ha! Not even close." Clare laughed. "I'm on my way!"

A few minutes later Lexi saw Clare's van slam to a halt on the cobblestones, then heard feet racing up the stairs. Clare had a bottle of champagne with her. "Glasses?" she asked.

Lexi shrugged. "Juice glasses will have to do."

"Perfect. Fine." Clare popped the cork and poured. She held up her glass in a toast. "I've broken off with Jesse."

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Lexi bit the inside of her lip. "How did he take it?"

"He was surprised, of course, and kind of angry. He kept thinking I suspected him of sleeping with someone else."

"Is he sleeping with someone else?" Guiltily, Lexi remembered Jesse's kisses, and her own response.

"He swears he isn't, but that doesn't even matter now. That's not why I ended it." Clare was bubbling.

Lexi chose her words carefully. "Perhaps you should wait a few days to celebrate. Let your emotions settle."

"Oh, Lexi, I'm happy! I'm free. I'm starting over."

"Well, it's very brave of you. But go slowly," Lexi advised.

Clare stomped her foot. "Come on, drink with me." Clare clinked her glass against Lexi's. "Here's to the future."

Lexi said quietly, "Right. Here's to the future."

The next day, when Clare arrived home after closing her shop, she felt clean and oddly virtuous. After dinner, she meditated upon the right time to tell Adam that she'd broken off with Jesse. It would only be mature to wait a couple of weeks. But suddenly she couldn't wait another minute. She grabbed up her purse and hurried out to her car.

Clare pulled into Adam's driveway and threw herself out of her car. She could hear Adam's dogs barking like maniacs. The front door opened. Adam was barefoot in jeans and a flannel shirt. He had a beer in one hand. "Clare?"

"Adam." Her heart was ticking so fast she was afraid she might faint. "Can I come in? I have to tell you something.

"Sure." He looked puzzled. "What's going on?"

"This," Clare said, and launched herself at him.

She grabbed his face with both hands, smashed her lips into his mouth. Her haste, her desire, made her clumsy.

Adam pulled away. "Hang on a minute. You're engaged!"

"Not anymore."

He held her away so he could see her face. "Seriously?"

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"Seriously." She was running her hands over his shoulders and chest; she moved her hips against his and felt his hardness beneath the denim.

Adam looked wary. "What, is this rebound sex?" Before she could answer, he said, "Oh, what the hell do I care?" He picked her up and carried her into his bedroom. He fell onto the bed with her. "Wait," he said.

"Can't," she gasped, tearing at his clothes and her own. "Need..." She pressed her half-naked body against his, running her hands down his strong muscular thighs.

Adam groaned and laid her back on the bed, then pushed his knees against her knees, spreading her legs apart. He ran his hand over her body from shoulder to breast to belly to groin, and then he entered her, and Clare let her eyes close as she felt his length and width and heat press into her. His thrusts were rapid, hard, but she responded in kind, clutching him with her arms and legs as if she were drowning and he was everything that could save her. He shuddered against her, and she came too, in such an intense orgasm she felt like a sea creature squeezing out of its shell, expanding into a world of sensation.

Rain pattered against the roof of Lexi's building like a volley of spilled beads. She'd been so busy since the grand opening of her shop that she'd barely had time to catch her breath. Clare had stolen a few minutes with her one afternoon to share the precious new joy of her budding relationship with Adam, but they hadn't spoken since.

Late in the afternoon the clouds rolled away. Once the store was closed, Lexi grabbed up a beach bag and a bottle of wine and drove over to Surfside Beach. It wouldn't be busy today, not after the storm.

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Only one lone figure rode the waves on his surfboard. Lexi found shelter between the dunes and sat down to watch him. She poured a glass of wine. She felt her shoulders relax and her heartbeat slow.

And then the surfer came out of the waves, and her heart jumped like a dolphin surfacing, because it was Jesse who was walking toward her.

"Hi, Jesse. Good surf?"

He nodded. "The best. The wind got it going just right."

Suddenly Lexi felt lit up, vividly alive. This world was all summer sky and sea, and Jesse, Jesse wet and masculine. "I...I'd offer you some wine, but I only brought one glass."

"No problem. I'll drink from the bottle. Just let me get out of this." Dropping the surfboard, he sprinted away.

In a few moments he was back, carrying a towel and a sweatshirt. "What a day," he said as he unzipped his wet suit. Lexi couldn't tear her eyes away from his lean body as it emerged, one arm, another arm, slender back, muscular chest. He tossed the suit aside like a husk, yanked the sweatshirt on over his head, then dropped down next to Lexi.

Bojan Tezak

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"Mind?" he asked, gesturing toward the bottle.

"Help yourself."

Jesse took a swig of wine. "Thanks. Come here often?"

A pickup line. They both laughed. "No, actually. I've been too busy with the shop to enjoy myself."

"I know what you mean. Well, everyone who works in the summer knows. But I decided a long time ago I was going to enjoy myself. Life is short — I can't let it be all about money."

"Of course not." Lexi was glad her voice was working.

"You were brave, Lex. You got to live your life."

She was trembling now. "You mean marrying Ed? Well, I got to travel, that's for sure. But it wasn't exactly living."

Jesse stared at her. "How could any man not love you?" He took Lexi's wineglass from her. Gripping her shoulders, he pressed her firmly onto the ground and stretched out next to her. Stroking her hair away from her face, he brought his mouth down on hers. His kiss was soft, his tongue salty.

A low moan moved through her. Her body arched up. Jesse moved his hand down and down.... A sweetness surged through Lexi. She had never known a man could be so gentle. The sand beneath her surged into little hills and valleys, supporting her body as Jesse circled his fingertips and slipped his fingers against the silk of her skin. She arched her hips up, and Jesse moved inside the V she made.

He thrust inside her. She felt a deep shifting, and pleasure spilled through her like the sea breaking through the jetties, tumbling, frothing, undeniable.

Jesse lifted himself off her. She was shivering, yet her blood spun a warm mist of ease through her limbs. A happiness she'd never known before enfolded her. After a while, she opened her eyes. "Clare," she murmured.

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Jesse snorted. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to bring her up. She broke off with me, remember?" He pulled Lexi to him. "I'll tell you this much — whatever happened between us just now, I want more of it."

A thrill streaked through Lexi at his words, but she couldn't shake the thought of her friend. They stood, and Jesse walked Lexi to her Range Rover. "I'll call you," he promised. "I don't know how soon, but I'll call you."

As she drove away, Lexi realized she was shaking. She felt so...so everything. Happy, but guilty. Astonished and terrified. Hopeful, frightened. Making love with Jesse had been a revelation. His mouth, his arms, his body — she nearly swerved off the road, remembering.

Next month: Find out what's next for Clare and Lexi in Part III of our Red-Hot Summer Read in the September issue of REDBOOK. And get 35 percent off Nancy Thayer's novel Moon Shell Beach at bn.com/redbook through September 30, 2008.

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